Delusional Fanboys in Dreamland Can Remain in Denial, But Schilling Sets the Record Straight on Manuel Aristides Ramirez

“I think Manny is less than comfortable playing in Boston for whatever reason, that's his right. I think it's gotten to the point now where there's some thought that even though Manny might stay, he might not be here if he does. And I think the belief is that trading Manny and bringing somebody in would be more valuable than having a Manny here that didn't play. I don't know that to be a fact. That is pure speculation on my part.

"I live with the guys, I have some insight. I don't know for sure. I do know that I've spoken with Manny. Manny does want to be traded. Manny wants to play somewhere else.” -- Curt Schilling in Warwick, R.I. yesterday to receive the "Spirit of Lou Gehrig Award" | CBS4 video

Why Are the Sox Really Calling It Quits with Manny?Will Papi's Production Drop Like a Rock without Ramirez?Will the 'Brain Trust' Pay Yet Another Player to Play Elsewhere?Should Theo Just Say No on Bailing on His Biggest RH Bat?Will the Godawful J.D. Drew 'Deal' Do in the GM?

Could an Angry Dick Williams Have Driven Ramirez to Get on the Field in September?Could Walpole Joe Morgan Have Charmed Manny into Doing Right by His Teammates?Could George 'Boomer' Scott Have Turned Around the Slugging Savant?

Hideki Okajima, a 30-year-old lefthanded-specialist relief pitcher, is a three-time Japan Series winner, twice with the Yomiuri Giants in 2000 and 2002 (he was a teammate of Hideki Matsui, who he would be facing a lot, if signed), and this year (2006) with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

Okajima has faced tough lefty opponents in critical situations out of the 'pen and proven his ability in Japan. He has a "big" curve, which is tough for lefthanded batters to hit, and he's held lefty hitters to less than a .200 average in '05 and '06. Okajima's last three years of innings pitched (IP), bases on balls (BB), and strikeouts (SO):

2004

2005

2006

IP

46 2/3

53

54 2/3

BB

20

19

14

SO

53

56

63

Bottom line is, Okajima is a solid situational lefthanded pitcher, and probably will cost much less than three years at $12 million that Orioles paid Jamie Walker. And Okajima is four years younger than Walker.

And maybe most importantly, Okajima would no doubt help Matsuzaka’s transition to the United States, as Daisuke will have someone who he can talk to about the culture shock they will both be going through.

"We are hopeful the negotiations process will complete itself fairly quickly, but knowing human nature we have a 30-day period. One of the reasons we came here was to make clear to the Japanese baseball community, to Seibu and to the Matsuzaka fans that we are determined to sign Matsuzaka-san."-- 11.28.06, Larry Lucchino, Red Sox CEO

"An example of what Lucchino and the Lions could be discussing is the Red Sox being unwilling to go beyond an average annual salary of $9 million. If an acceptable middle ground of $11 million per year for, say, five years would get a deal done, the Lions could subtract $10 million from the $51.11 million owed them in order to bridge the gap."-- 11.28.06, Michael Silverman, Boston Herald

An afternoon sun illuminates the foliage extending in every direction beyond Invoice Seibu Dome on the outskirts of Tokorozawa, and casts its natural light into 29,187 spectators through the breach between original grandstands and retrofitted dome. The horizontal band of sunshine circumnavigates the stadium, splitting the fuzzy manmade lumens into two pools, one reflecting from the dome above, the other from the concourses below.

This is Daisuke Matsuzaka's house and the gathered crowd is well aware that today could be his final day of home confinement. Speculation is rampant that Seibu Lions ownership will honor his year-old request to be posted at season's end, thereby paving his way to America. But there are neither tears nor long faces in the seats. Rather, an electric energy ripples through the crowd. This is yakyu -- Japanese baseball -- at its peak. The second-place Lions are hosting the third-place SoftBank Hawks in this best-of-three first stage that will ultimately decide the Pacific Division delegate to the 2006 Japan Series.

The Lions emerge from their first-base dugout and take the field, a pale-green Astroturf reminiscent of any National League surface with only minimal breaks to accommodate each base and pitcher's mound. But this is the extent of any NL comparison. The Pacific is the younger and more rebellious of the two leagues comprising Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Japan's MLB equivalent. There is no 'Japan League'; the term is a stateside misnomer. And, unlike in the Central League, Matsuzaka must face a designated hitter each night.

On this Saturday afternoon of what is Columbus Day weekend back in the States, the Seibu Lions' cause will be furthered by the presence of their ace, who takes the mound for warm-ups. They will need it. Lions hitters will be going up against the best pitcher in NPB, SoftBank's Kazumi Saitoh.

As hard as it is to believe, $51.1 million doesn't even buy the exclusive right to negotiate with Japan's best.

Granted, Matsuzaka is not chopped sushi. He finished a close second to Saitoh in every major pitching category: wins (Saitoh 18, Matsuzaka 17), ERA (1.75 vs. 2.13), strikeouts (205 vs. 200), and innings pitched (201 vs. 186). While this is a typical Dice-K season, it is a career year for the 29-year old Saitoh, who will soon be the unanimous winner of the Sawamura Award, NPB's equivalent to the Cy Young. But this afternoon belongs to Matsuzaka.

Dice-K scatters six hits -- along with four hit batsman -- over a complete game shutout, striking out 13 while walking none. The only run of the game scores in the bottom of the seventh when the Lions lead off with three straight hits, capped by Kazuhiro Wada's RBI double. Saitoh gives up only one other hit in eight innings of work, striking out nine while walking two, but is the hard-luck loser. Nevertheless, in two days' time, Saitoh's Hawks will go on to eliminate Matsuzaka's Lions, two games to one.

This opener was vintage yakyu, where managers sit back and enjoy the pitching performances right along with the fans. Saitoh threw 115 pitches, Matsuzaka 137, and neither bullpen gate so much as creaked, leaving many purists outside Japan longing to see these global treasures swept under the protectionist wings of American baseball.

High pitch counts among Japanese pitchers in general and Matsuzaka in particular have long been a concern among Major League scouts and front offices. Possession of this general awareness is one thing, but to be armed with the specifics (forgive the pun) is another matter altogether.

As a 17-year old, Matsuzaka's 17-inning, 250-pitch performance in the 1998 Koshien Summer Championships is folklore, even in Japanese circles. From there, his iron legend would only grow. By the age of 21, Dice-K had started 80 games in three big-league (read: no minors) seasons, facing almost 2,500 batters in 588 innings of work. That's an average of seven and one-third innings per start.

J.D. Drew: So Now a Soft, Oft-Injured and Out-of-the-Lineup Nonchalant Is Going to Get a 4-Year, $56 Million Deal?

Is Anyone in the Red Sox Front Office Ever Going to Accept Responsibility for This Mother of All Fiascos?

"His [J.D. Drew's] asking price, according to sources, is at least $14 million. That's $4 million a year more than the Sox offered last winter to Johnny Damon before he signed a four-year, $52 million deal with the Yankees."-- 11.25.06, Gordon Edes, Boston Globe

"Derek Jeter hasn't had to swallow much garbage in his career. But finishing second in the AL MVP race to Justin Morneau likely required an ocean of flavored water to get it down the Yankee captain's throat."-- 11.22.06, George King, New York Post

"Sorry, folks. It's time for Manny to go. Time and again, he's made it clear that he doesn't want to play in Boston. He quit at the end of last season, and everyone in the Sox clubhouse knows this. The manager knows Manny quit. David Ortiz knows Manny quit. Curt Schilling knows Manny quit...

"Face facts, fans: This is not us 'running Manny out of town.' Manny has run himself out of town. He did not return your love. He wants out. He quit on the Red Sox. He quit on you."-- 11.22.06, Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe

"So where does he [Manny] go? The Angels, who showed considerable interest in Ramírez last winter, would appear to have positioned themselves for a possible trade by signing free agent setup man Justin Speier, freeing setup man Scot Shields in a possible package deal that also could include a starting pitcher, Ervin Santana, or a top prospect such as Brandon Wood."-- 11.11.06, Gordon Edes, Boston Globe

"Many Sox fans will lament the loss of Manny, who could lay down on his team one day and receive a standing ovation three days later. Kids adored him. His story was one of unrequited love; you loved him, Boston, even though he never loved you back. Many players say this is the greatest city in the world in which to play baseball. Manny can think of at least 10 other places he’d like to play."-- 11.21.06, Gerry Callahan, Boston Herald

Sox GM Offered Store Manager $51,111 for Exclusive Rights to Cut the Line and Purchase a PS3 This Morning

Epstein Then Paid $5,000 for the PS3 Console Even Though the Unit Was Priced at Only $500

“Clearly I believe PS3 has really fine features and graphics and it would be a great fit in my living room,” said Epstein, who wouldn’t disclose the amount paid. “I'm excited to move on to the next step of the process and read the manual.” -- 11.17.06, Theo Epstein, Chronic Overspender

"Manny Ramirez's contract has been the 160-ton weight hanging around the necks of the Red Sox for six years, and Boston executives have repeatedly tried to do his bidding and unload the slugger, despite the fact that he drives in 130 runs a year. The Red Sox have tried to waive him, trade him, swap him, sell him, everything...

"And in this new world, Manny Ramirez is suddenly a relative bargain. I wonder if the Red Sox might finally find themselves in a climate in which they can trade Ramirez. .."-- 11.16.06, Buster Olney, ESPN Blog

Eric Wilbur: Scout's HonorDid Theo Plant the Seeds for Matsuzaka During His Sabbatical?

"I actually talked to a Japanese team about doing some consulting. That may still come to fruition. I think it would be a good use of a year off to do something that would be stimulating and also involves seeing another culture which I haven’t had an opportunity to do. ...I do not (speak Japanese)."-- 01.06.06, Theo Epstein on KISS-108 in Extra Bases

"Boston still has Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield. But if the Red Sox get Matsuzaka, they not only go into 2007 with a formidable five-man rotation, but with Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Daniel Bard on the horizon, could have big starting pitching for the next five years.

"Second, the Red Sox strongly want to build an Asian foundation. When Theo Epstein left the Red Sox last fall, after he turned down the Dodger job, he worked with two Japanese teams as a consultant. Epstein believes in the next decade the mass of baseball talent coming out of Asia will alter the landscape, and his owners want to be entrenched in Japan as well as China; they signed three prominent Taiwanese prospects this spring, and are looking into establishing complexes in Taiwan and mainland China..."

"It is a gamble to spend the next 30 days negotiating with Boras for Matsuzaka while other free-agent pitchers are being signed. Matsuzaka's health is always a concern considering that he threw 13 complete games and on days before he pitches he throws a 200-pitch bullpen session; it's also every fifth, not every sixth or seventh, day that he starts. Yes, he has thrown more than 1,402 innings before the age of 26, but as The Hardball Times points out, that's fewer before turning 26 than Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Carlos Zambrano, Brett Myers, C.C. Sabathia and others, and his regimen is legendary."-- 11.14.06, Peter Gammons, ESPN Insider blog (by subscription only)

" 'If they can sign him, they've got the best pitcher in the market, and he may be the best pitcher in baseball when all is said and done,' said one American League general manager Tuesday night. 'He's got five outstanding pitches.
'Coming over from Japan where he threw a lot of innings and had 13 complete games, I would think this would seem like a vacation to him. It's a lot of money, but if you have it, why not use it on a kid like this? The Yankees have to be sick about this.' "-- 11.14.06, Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe

"At the very least, the consensus is that he is a top-of-the-rotation starter. He is said to have outstanding stuff. According to a National League scout quoted by "Baseball Prospectus," the repertoire consists of a mid-90s fastball, a cutter, a two-seam fastball known as a "shuuto," a curveball, a changeup, a splitter, and a slider. Again according to Baseball Prospectus, another NL scout says he has three different sliders, which would give him nine pitches. Mike Mussina will be jealous."-- 11.14.06, Bob Ryan, Boston Globe

"Just four months after the Boston Red Sox said they couldn't possibly consider picking up the $22 million owed Bobby Abreu at the trading deadline -- "We're not the Yankees," was the short version of their defense -- they apparently have blown the rest of baseball out of the water for the rights to negotiate with Japanese ace Daisuke Matsuzaka, a pitcher who might cost them $75 million for three years of service.

"It would seem to be a stunning reversal of philosophy until you understand this: There is no more valuable commodity in the game than young ace pitchers, and the Red Sox boldly just redefined the value."-- 11.14.06, Tom Verducci, Sports Illustrated

"For all the mind-boggling dollars the Red Sox are prepared to sink into Japanese pitching star Daisuke Matsuzaka -- an investment that will likely top $100 million by the time a contract is agreed upon -- the bottom line remains that nobody is quite sure how he'll fare once arriving in America. While names like Ichiro and Hideki Matsui are most commonly associated with Matsuzaka, guys like Hideki Irabu and -- while not Japanese -- Robinson Checo remain the primary concerns about importing unknown commodities into the major leagues."-- 11.14.06, Eric Wilbur, Boston.com

"While he might be in front of cameras Tuesday night answering questions as the top bidder for Daisuke Matsuzaka, Epstein also disclosed on Monday that he has made formal offers to two free-agent pitchers."
-- 11.14.06, Nick Cafardo, Globe Staff

"Now Foulke is gone and here is the truly amazing thing: No one is shedding a tear. Not Foulke, not Epstein, not anyone who has watched the Red Sox over the past two seasons. That might all be considered sad were it not for the simple fact that Foulke brought so much of this upon himself."-- 11.11.06, Tony Massarotti, Boston Herald

"Do you want to measure [Kevin] Youkilis by what he is, or what he isn’t? If you choose the latter, then he falls woefully short of the big-bopping sluggers that traditionally have defined the first base position. Youkilis hit 13 home runs last season, which tied him for 10th among AL first basemen, with just a little more than a third of the home runs posted by Paul Konerko and Nick Swisher, leaders at the position with 35 apiece."
-- Gordon Edes, Boston Globe Offseason Overview

"For lack of any other way to put it, Vinatieri got the Johnny Damon treatment last night: When he came out for his first field goal try, he was practically booed out of the joint." -- 11.6.06, Steve Buckley, Boston Herald

Adam's Family Isn't in New England AnymoreHe Chose to Live in Peyton's PlaceSox Cap or Not

Lonie Wants You to Let The Colts Kicker Have It

"Did they boo Johnny Damon when he came back? ... These are the greatest fans in the world. They should boo him [Adam Vinatieri]. He plays for the other side now." -- 11.3.06, Patriots long snapper Lonie Paxton to CBS4's Steve Burton

"He turned 44 in August, his name surfaced in steroids reports, and he cost the Astros $12 million to pitch just over three months last season. Still, it wouldn’t be the Rocket or the Red Sox without another round of speculation that Roger Clemens will return to Boston for the final chapter of his storied career."-- Gordon Edes Red Sox Offseason Overview

At Least Lou Gorman Would Sleep Better If the Sox Beefed Up the Infield with 38-Year-Old Jeff Bagwell

"One announcement that might be slow in coming is a retirement declaration from Bagwell. He'll probably file for free agency as a procedural matter, just to keep his options open. As Axelrod, who is also Bagwell's agent, points out: It never hurts to be prepared just in case Boston wants to right an old wrong and bring Bagwell back for $20 million."-- 11.1.06, Jerry Crasnick, ESPN.com

But If the Senior Sox Retire Early Again in '07The Young Guns Could Be Firing Away at Fenway Soon

"Daniel Bard, who has yet to pitch a competitive inning for the Sox after signing in late August, is the draftee drawing the most early raves, as he reached 100 miles per hour during his work in the Florida Instructional League. McLeod, who used the 28th pick overall to draft the University of North Carolina righthander, said the radar gun readings are not urban legend."-- 11.1.06, Gordon Edes, Boston Globe

"You know Theo, $120 million payroll, if you make the most of it, you study players hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in third place in the American League East and sit around hoping Manny Ortez wins an MVP." -- John Kerry's advice to Theo Epstein this offseason

The “Curt’s Pitch
for ALS” program is a joint effort by Curt and Shonda Schilling and The
ALS Association Mass Chapter to strike out Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

For the fourth consecutive year, SHADE Foundation of America will be represented at the Boston Marathon by a team raising funds for SHADE. SHADE is currently seeking marathon runners to join the team . For more information on running with Shonda Schilling on SHADE’s team or sponsoring runners, please visit SHADE's marathon page here.The SHADE Foundation thanks Red Sox Nation for joining in their fight to save future generations from melanoma.